Egypt’s Elsewedy finances 100 MWh standalone battery project in Greece

Egyptian energy company Elsewedy Electric has reached financial close on what has been described as the nation’s first large-scale battery energy storage project.
Elsewedy said the 50 MW/100 MWh BESS project near the village and former municipality of Oinoftya, in Boeotia would be backed by ten-year contracts-for-difference (CfDs), following an auction held by the Greek RegulatoryĀ Authority for Waste, Energy and Water.
Under the scheme, CfD bidders offer a strike price for the renewable electricity they will generate or store. They sell the power into the market and if the wholesale price they receive is lower than the strike price, the government will make good the difference. In the event of higher-than-strike-price wholesale returns, project owners refund the difference to the government.
The project will be operational in 2025 and will connect to Greece’s 150 kV high-voltage grid via a 33 kV/150 kV, “step-up” substation which will be built next to the site.
The BESS project was backed by EUR 10 million state-aid grant, EUR 5.5 million loan from the European Commission’s post-Covid, Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), as well as EUR 10 million from the National Bank of Greece.
*This article was amended on January 24, 2025, to reflect the fact that Elsewedy has secured one project in the Greek auction, and not two as previously reported.